Improvement in pocket fire-escapes



GEORGE ENGLAND.

Improvement in Pocket Fire-Ecapes. N0. 114,119. PatentedApr il25,1871..

GEORGE A. ENGLAND,.OF RIPON, WISCONSIN.

Letters Patent No. 114.119, dated April 25 1871.-

IMPROVEMENT lN POCKET FlRE-ESCAPES.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and part of the name.

ing had to the accompanying drawingforming part of this specification,in which- Figure I is a perspective view of my fire-escape in.

position for use, and

Figure 2 is a longitudinal section of the friction-bar.

Similar letters of reference in the accompanying drawing denotecorresponding parts.

My invention has for its object to provide an improved fire-escape forthe use of travelers and others, which can be packed in an exceedinglysmall compass and carried in the pocket or in a valise, which is simpleand economical in its construction and easily operated by women andchildren without the possibility of failure or disarrangemeut of any ofits parts; to this end,

My invention consists in a friction-bar adapted to slide upon the ropewhich forms the medium of communication between the building and theground, said bar being provided with a series of transverse holes tochange the direction of the rope and increase the friction, and with acentral support to receive the body or person to be lowered, and at thesame'time to adapt the friction-bar for reversal upon the rope, as willbe hereinafter more fully described.

In the accompanying drawing- A is the rope, of suflicient length toreach from the highest story of a hotel or other building, and ofsufficient size to support a weight of several hundred pounds. c

B is the friction-bar, made cylindrical in shape and either taperingfrom the center toward each end or made of equal diameter. This bar Idesign to make of wood, about ten inches in length, although metal maybe employed. I prefer the use of wood, however, on account of itslightness.

G O' are holes passing through the bar at right angles, or nearly so, toits axis and to each other, and so arranged that two, 0 and 0', shall beon each side of the center. Through these holes the rope A is passedfrom side to side, as clearly shown in fig. 1,

entering at one end, 0, and passing out at the opposite end, Of.

At the extremities of the holes the bar is recessed, beveled, or groovedin the line of direction of the rope, to prevent the latter from beingcut or abraded when the friction-bar is sliding upon it, and also toform guides for the rope between the holes.

Around the center of the bar a ferrule, D, is secured, being held inplace by the transverse bolt E,

which bolt also forms the point of suspension for the person or body tobe lowered from a building.

F is a strap, attached at each end by snap-hooks g or other suitablemeans to a loose ring, h, affixed to the end of the bolt so as to form aloop oisbight, as shown in fig. 1.

The operation is as follows:

The upper end of the rope is secured to any suitable object within theroom from which it is desired to escape, and the opposite end is passedout of the window.

The strap F is'now passed under the arms of the person, his whole weightbeing suspended from the center of the friction-bar, as previouslymentioned.

The rope is then grasped and the latter allowed to move downward.

Owing to theabrupt changein the direction of the rope through the barthe friction upon it is so great as to prevent the bar and its weightfrom falling too rapidly, or rather to avoid the necessity of graspingthe rope with sufficient force to balance or nearly bal- 1 ance theweightof the body.

The rope is only grasped in order to guide the descent, andnot-specially to counterbalance the weight uponthe friction-bar.

By suspending the-weight from the center of the friction-bar the latteris adapted for reversal, and operates with equal effect from either endof the rope. To facilitate this the bolt E is swiveled in its bearings.

The special advantage of this adaptation for reversal is to permit theescape of several. persons from the same room; for example, one havingpassed to the ground the friction-bar is necessarily at the lower end oftherope; instead, therefore, of slipping or pulling the bar back uponthe rope, which would become necessary if the point of suspension wereat the ends of the bar, the rope is pulled up and reversed, as will bereadily understood.

Instead of using a short ferrule, D, upon the bar B, a cylindrical caseof any suitable material may be placed over the whole or part only ofthe bar, provision of course being made for the passage of the rope.

If desired, also, the suspension-bolt may be replaced by the waist-strappassing around the center ofthe bar in any convenient manner.

The waist-strap may also be provided with a buckle, I, to facilitate itsremoval from the body when supporting the weight of the latter near theground. Or the snap-hooks may be dispensed with and the buckle onlyemployed. In the latter case the strap would be made in one piece.

One of the great advantages resulting from the peculiar construction ofthe friction-barand the arrange-- ment of the holes therein as describedis that the rope is held in close contact with the'bar at all times,

I whether the apparatus is in use or not, so that no slack or loop inthe rope between the extremities of the bar is possible. It cannot,therefore, slip out of its proper bed or become disarranged or entangledin any way, but is always in order and always ready for The covering maybe extended from end to end of the bar by inclosing the latter in a tubeor envelope of metal, wood, or textile fabric, insideof which the ropepasses along the bar and-,througl'i the holes,'as described.

Having thus described my invention,

What 1 claim as new therein, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The friction-bar B, having a rope passing" through it in the mannershown, in combination with a strap or equivalent device attached atthecenter, as set forth.

GEO. ENGLAND.

Witnesses: v

N. K. ELLSWORTH, E. A. Ennswomn.

